On the south west corner of Broadway and 96th there is something that used to be a red grand am. The airbags deflated, the front now just a sculpture, not an engine compartment anymore. Both airbags hang deflated. The ambulance just left, a truck is here by to scoop up the remains of the car. I did not hear the hit, I did not hear the ambulances, I do not see the other party. Maybe the car was all by itself? Traveling alone with a high speed, until it hit one of the concrete barriers that are built to protect the pedestrians who cross Broadway? Cars usually do not travel alone, of course. All seems to be peaceful now.
I remember seeing a car hit one of those barriers once. It was in full speed, maybe 5 years ago, in the evening, around 74th street. A man was crossing Broadway near the Big Apple Bang building. I was walking towards Fairway. (North, on the west side of Broadway.) A car came down Broadway, at pretty high speed. I do not know why the driver decided to aim at the pedestrian. I do not remember if the driver used the breaks at all. The man crossing the street did not see it coming. I happened to look at him as the car hit the barrier just a foot or so to his right. The front of the car collapsed in an instant, the back rose for a split second. There was no slow motion There was no replay. All that there was, was a completely totalled car, a shocked driver and a pedestrian who did not even jump. He just looked to the right, noticed the accident, looked at the stunned driver, looked ahead again, to make sure the said walk. It was, as if somebody had combined these two scenes on an editing table. The car was now ready to be recycled, the pedestrian had other things on his mind. He just crossed the street and went to get some food. The driver was staring straight ahead. He probably watched a replay of what just had happened. Over and over again. The Police arrived just seconds later. Fairway was packed that night. When I came back out with my groceries, the car and the driver were gone. It was just the same Broadway, same traffic, same pedestrians crossing, some too slow for the s, waiting in the middle of Broadway, to cross in two installments.
There is no sign left of the red grand am, on Broadway and 96th. Nobody is looking at the little oil spill which marks the spot of the accident car.
I think I will go back to sleep now. My right eye never woke up anyway.